On the subject of The Whale, but it could be on the subject of many other things

« There was a time when being honest, even if it made others uncomfortable, was a liberal position. Now discomfiting any section of an audience, we are told, must be avoided at all costs. So much great art is great exactly because it makes us uncomfortable; it forces us to take an earnest look at ourselves. Charlie’s grotesque size, the disgust he can read on the faces of those around him, the destructive concern of a friend – all of these can and should raise profound questions for the audience. But instead of responding with an open mind, more and more of us turn to art with suspicion, treating it as something that must be exorcised or sanitised.

I fear a society where we lose the ability to respect and appreciate great works of art, whether or not we like them. But it seems we’re heading in that direction – and that, to me, is the truly offensive thing.»

George Llewelyn in The Spectator magazine